Reporting snapshot · 26 October 2026 (Asia/Karachi). The Pakistan Cricket Board's release of Saim Ayub and the naming of Sahibzada Farhan were announced on Monday, but Pakistan's eleven for the fifth match against Sri Lanka on 27 October had not been published, the board set no end date for Ayub's absence, and Farhan's arrival in Lahore had not been confirmed. The figures below describe the squad as it stood on Monday evening.
What the board decided
Pakistan opener Saim Ayub was released from the national squad for the remainder of the one-day international tri-series on Monday, 26 October, after he asked to return to domestic cricket to work on his batting form, the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement Dawn reported. The decision followed a conversation between Ayub and head coach Mike Hesson, and the board wrote that the team management and national selection committee had “mutually agreed to accept this request” after appreciating “his honest assessment of his current form”, Geo News quoted the statement.
Right-handed opener Sahibzada Farhan was named as Ayub’s replacement for the rest of the tournament, Dawn reported. Geo News reported, citing sources, that Farhan is in Kathmandu for the Nepal Premier League and will return to Pakistan on the first available flight, so whether he reaches Lahore in time for Tuesday’s match was not settled when the announcement was made.
It was the second change to the same squad in two days. On Sunday, the board added 21-year-old Maaz Sadaqat, an occasional left-arm orthodox spinner, as cover for players carrying minor niggles and released left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, Geo News reported. Dawn reported that the board cited the nature of the Lahore pitches, that Sufiyan was asked to return to domestic cricket, and that Sadaqat had been left out of the original squad before being added. The Express Tribune reported on Monday that Pakistan are also expected to make changes to the eleven for the fifth match.
The form problem behind the decision
Ayub scored six in Pakistan’s one-wicket victory over England at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday, dismissed by debutant Henry Crocombe, and his dismissal came in the middle of what Dawn described as a top-order collapse that left Pakistan struggling before Shadab Khan’s unbeaten 113 and an unbroken last-wicket stand with Haris Rauf secured the win.
The weakness runs wider than one batter. The Express Tribune reported that Fakhar Zaman has scored 26 runs in three matches and that Babar Azam fell for 10 in the same Sunday game after promising starts in the first two. The same report argued that Agha Salman, in prolific form, should be promoted to steady the top order, and said Babar “will need to raise his game”.
Pakistan’s captain had raised the issue before that match. Ahead of Sunday’s game, Shaheen Shah Afridi acknowledged the selection options available to the team amid inconsistent returns from the opening batters, Dawn reported. The Express Tribune also reported that Naseem Shah is unlikely to return after dislocating a finger on his left hand, and that young pacer Razaullah took 2 for 38 on his debut against England. Shaheen had taken 4 for 46 on the Sunday pitch and 3 for 55 against Sri Lanka earlier in the series, the same report said.
Who comes in
Farhan is already part of Pakistan’s white-ball leadership. He was named captain of the national T20 international side for the series against Sri Lanka earlier this month, as KhabarWire reported at the time, and Dawn reported that he also led Pakistan at the Asian Games. He had been left out of the original ODI tri-series squad, and The Express Tribune reported that he led his T20 side to a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi and could feature in Tuesday’s game.
His arrival adds a body to the squad rather than settling the order. The Express Tribune reported that Pakistan’s in-form batters include Hasan Nawaz and Agha Salman, with the all-rounders Arafat Minhas and Shadab Khan also available, and argued that Salman, in prolific form, should be promoted to give the top order stability. Who opens on Tuesday, and whether the board moves Salman up the order, was not part of Monday’s announcement.
What Tuesday’s match means
Pakistan have won all three of their matches in the competition, beginning with a 37-run win over Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on 18 October, as KhabarWire reported, and following with an 87-run win over England and Sunday’s one-wicket win. Pakistan play Sri Lanka in the fifth match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday, 27 October, at 1pm, with the final scheduled for 31 October at the same venue, Dawn reported. The International Cricket Council’s published schedule has the top two sides after the six league matches meeting in the Lahore final on 31 October, the ICC says, and the tri-series is part of the three teams’ preparation for next year’s ODI World Cup.
Sri Lanka need a win to reach the final themselves. A defeat on Tuesday would leave England another chance to qualify when they meet the islanders again on Thursday, The Express Tribune reported. Sri Lanka arrive in form after a record chase of 430 against England in their previous match, the second-highest successful run chase in ODI history, with Pavan Rathnayake scoring 130, Avishka Fernando and Dasun Shanaka 97 apiece and Janith Liyanage 61, the same report said. KhabarWire recorded England’s 429 for 4 that afternoon, including Harry Brook’s record double century, before the chase was completed.
So Tuesday’s game is a practice match for Pakistan ahead of the final rather than a qualifier, and a genuine contest for Sri Lanka. It is also the last chance to settle Pakistan’s order before the 31 October final, and the board had not said on Monday who would open.
What is still uncertain
The board’s statement set no end date for Ayub’s absence and said nothing about when he would be considered again, Dawn reported. Farhan’s travel plans were not part of the announcement either; Geo News reported that he is due back on the first available flight, which leaves open whether he plays on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s eleven for the fifth match had not been published on Monday. The expected changes, including whether Agha Salman moves up the order, were selection intentions rather than announcements, and Naseem Shah’s availability was described as unlikely rather than ruled out.
What the release does settle is that the board is willing to let a player leave a tournament in progress for domestic cricket and form work, and to bring in a replacement on short notice from the Nepal Premier League. The wider white-ball picture, from the tri-series schedule to the reset T20I structure, is tracked in KhabarWire’s Pakistan Cricket hub.
